Quest for the Fire Crystal

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As the sun rises in a red sky the air is filled with the strong smell of sulphur, screams of torture and howls can be heard in the distance as a cloaked figure approaches the out post. He raps on the heavy wooden door, it opens with a creak and the cloaked figure is confronted by a guard adorned in full battle regalia. "State your purpose" the guard drones in an unearthly tone. The stranger reveals himself to be a messenger from Lord Ssilyrrlith himself with a letter for General Grimm.

The messenger enters GeneralGrimm's throne room ( Grimm thinks himself much higher than his station and thusly had a throne room built in his small strong hold ), "Lord Ssilyrrlith wishes for you to retrieve the elemental crystal of Nocturnus" the messenger states as he drops to one knee, seemingly mocking Grimm and his faux highness.

"Very well grunts Grimm" it is apparent he despises being called upon like a common lap dog. The messenger passes Grimm a small piece of parchment and bows out of the room.

Grimm unseals the parchment and begins to read:

"By order of Lord Ssilyrrlith,

To maintain strength and rule over the great eastern lands it is imperative that I secure the Crystal of Nocturnus. I demand you retrieve it as this is of the utmost importance, spare no time nor resources in securing it for your supreme ruler,

Lord Ssilyrrlith"

"A generic letter no doubt sent to all ranking Nocturians" Grimm grumbles as he scrunches the letter in his hand before dropping it to the ground. "Ready my horse and fetch my armour" he spits.

"Where are we going sir" asks one of the guards cringing as he does, as Grimm is rarely humoured by questions. " To the cartographer" growls Grimm, pushing the guard aside as he leaves the room.

The cartographer Ulaad lives deep within the swamplands of Nocturnus, here he is undisturbed and can further his knowledge of the lands. He lives alone mostly, only visited by his Orcish rangers who bring him news of new fortifications and freshly colonised areas, these rangers also serve as his personal guard though in these thick uninhabitable swamp lands that job seems redundant.

"We must retrieve the crystal of Nocturnus" Grimm states as he approaches Ulaad's hovel. "What no pleasantries general?" smiles Ulaad as he extends a hand to Grimm. "Forgive me old friend" replies Grimm sincerely, a sentiment not often given by Grimm.

"If we are truly going to succeed in this task then might I suggest we better the odds and increase our numbers" Ulaad says as they head inside his abode. "The quest you are on is not to be taken in jest my friend, and I've only two rangers with me at this time.... many new lands to explore in these times of expansion and conquest" Ulaad mumbles as he searches though piles of charts and scribbling. "If you feel it is necessary than we shall enlist the rotten corps, they are but a days march south of here on the desert border" Grimm replies somewhat more relaxed now in the presence of an old war buddy.

"Ah here it is" Ulaad exclaims as if he'd just had a eureka moment, "The tomb of the ancients is the place we need to be looking" he says tapping his finger on one of the charts, "for if the crystal really does exist then this would be its resting place" Ulaad chuckles somewhat amused by his statement. "Very good Ulaad, we shall rest here tonight and head south at morns first light" Grimm groans.

As morning breaks the party leaves Ulaad's residence and heads south to recruit the "Rotten Corps". The hot wind of the south is soon upon them, their armour creaks and groans as it expands in the heat. It is a dry and unforgiving environment void of life, and one that brings thirst to the mightiest of champions but Grimm and his entourage push forward and onto "Worms-Breath Tower", Nocturnus's first line of defence from invaders from the south.

" General" speaks one of the guards in a dry and raspy voice, "What brings you to this hell hole of a place?", "Gather your troops soldier" commands Grimm. Within minutes a small regiment for troops are assembled at the base of the tower "we are at you service general" , "then let us continue onward" announces Ulaad "for a real hell hole awaits us". With this the group set out "north east from here" says Ulaad "if we keep a good pace we should arrive at the tomb by nightfall".

As the last rays of daylight dance through the sky the party arrive at the entrance of the tomb, Ulaad walk up a rocky path to insect the door way. "Is it locked?" shouts Grimm for the bottom of the path, "locked ? ha! what fool would lock a tomb that no man would dare enter" replies Ulaad as he heaves on the giant door.

The door creaks open and a cloud of dust falls from it's surrounds.

Ulaad lights a torch and lights the doorway as Grimm leads the troop in.

Down and down they trek, the air is cold and dank and the smell of fungus fills the air, a refreshing change from the sulphuric atmosphere above. After what seems hours of travelling through the twisting rock formations the party walk into a large opening, at the end of the room stands a sealed doorway, boarded up with no hinges or handle. Grimm orders one of his troops to destroy the obstacle, with one swing of his sword the dry planks of wood crack and crumble into pieces.

Beyond the doorway a rocky crag forms a bridge to an island like rock formation that sits above a river of lava, in the centre of this island stands a small altar containing the red crystal of Nocturnus. Grimm moves forward but is stopped when Ulaad places his hand upon Grimm's shoulder and speaks "Might I suggest you volunteer the services of your troops for this task" the tone in his voice implies that this is more than just a suggestion. Grimm looks at Ulaad with puzzlement but doesn't argue, Grimm gestures to the troops behind him to fetch the crystal.

As one of the soldiers grabs for the crystal the lava below erupts and spits forth a giant fire wyrm, it's huge claws rip at the stunned troops. The poor souls didn't know what hit them they tried in vain to defend them selves but it was futile the beast had them and in seconds pieces of their bodies lay twitching on the ground below.

The wyrm closely inspects the remains to make sure it has finished the job, this was Grimm's chance and he did not hesitate to take it, Grimm charged across the bridge, his sword at the ready. The wyrm's head swung around and it's eyes meet with Grimm's, but it was to late the sword was already hurdling through the air at the wyrm's face. The beast let out a gut wrenching scream as the blade entered it's flesh, splitting it's face like a melon, the wyrm dropped to the ground writhing about in agony at it's life slowly ran from it's body.

Grimm picks the crystal from the ground and turns to Ulaad, Grimm smiles, covered in blood "our lord shall have his trinket" he laughs.

With the Fire crystal now in his possession Grimm heads to the "Mountain Pass Keep" to deliver the prize.

Mountain Pass Keep is the Nocturnian place of higher learning, many necromancers and alchemists come from all over Nocturnus to hone their skills.

It was this very place that Ulaad studied and so it was on his advice that Grimm agreed to bring the crystal here before returning to the capital.

The two adventurers enter the the room of the life tree and are greeted by Helgrum the arch-mage.

"Welcome back my old student " he says as he extends his hand to Ulaad, "and you must be the great general Grimm" he continues as he shakes Ulaad's hand enthusiastically.

"We have come to seek you knowledge on this artefact" speaks Ulaad as he gestures for Grimm to reveal the crystal, with this Grimm removes the fire crystal from a small pouch at his side.

The crystal pulsates with a red glow as if it were a heart freshly removed from it's host. "This is not good" says Helgrum " the crystal has a symbiont type relationship with it's guardian and now that you have slain the guardian the crystal has become unstable , if we do not bind it quickly it could possibly destroy this whole pass".

"How do we bind it?" asks Ulaad with a tinge of excitement in his voice, "There is only one way to bind the crystal now and that's by giving it a soul" replies Helgrum darkly.

"Then we shall fetch a beast and sacrifice it to the crystal then" states Grimm. "I'm afraid that will not do, the soul must be one of greatness and wisdom" says Helgrum his gaze now on Ulaad "It must be one of you".

"There must be another way" demands Grimm, but Ulaad gently places his hand upon Grimm's shoulder and speaks softly "it's ok old friend, it is after all the greatest adventure of them all".

"What must be done then?" asks Ulaad bravely, at this Helgrum removes a small bell from his cloak and rings it, moments later a wild-ling from the harsh lands enters the room brandishing a great halberd.

"What be it?" the wild-ling says in a thick accent "who you wanna me to kill?". Helgrum takes the crystal from Grimm and passes it to Ulaad "may the gods keep you among them" he mutters as the halberd swings down upon Ulaad.

The End...or is it?

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Nice! I really like a lot of things in this story. The minifigs are well chosen, the locations are cool (or hot) and original built. My favourite part though is the house of Ulaad, the roof and the walls are fantastic! Can't wait for the conclusion!

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This has turned out exceptionally! Well done Taz, love the little maersk mushroom btw

Perhaps the only thing I would add is the triumphant scene of the gem in hand and the slain wyrm (I have always loved wyrms from my MtG days). You already have the MOC built so wouldn't take much to post a climax scene as well.

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Nice conclusion I really like the dragon, seems agile and powerful at the same time.

I like how each chapter has something special, the archway for example or some interesting rock formations on other.

The story is catching too.

The only thing I would have liked more is the inclussion of human or monster characters there are too many Zombies¡ It wasnt fair, you know most of the guild members will have to risk the life of their vassals but Nocturnus folks send their living dead. Not fair. :laugh:

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This has become one incredible journey! What a great entry, with !8! different locations! Well constructed and amazing how you manage to get so much atmosphere in your MOC's. That new wall technique is seems perfect for this challenge, as it gives an old and rough texture. The body of the guardian is superb. Also excellent minifig positioning.

I thought I had a nice plan for my challenge 3 MOC, but i'm definantly not going to match this :S

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Truely excellent work Taz When the idea to build the challenge by using different scenes was brought up, this is how I imagine it. This is a great collection of well built mocs, each with there own great ideas and techniques. I love some of those entranceways you have built using your stone wall technique, the dragon is also very good. The story that ties it all together is well thought out too and together this makes for a great entry and one that will be hard to beat.